Sumo wrestlers paraded around the wrestling ring at a temple in Tokyo, holding up wailing babies on Saturday, April 28.
The “Nakizumo Festival” or the “Crying Sumo Festival” is based on the traditional Japanese 400-year-old belief that “naku ko wa sodatsu” or “crying babies grow fastest.” It is said that when babies cry loudly, it indicates that the lungs are healthy. The Japanese believe that sumos have the ability to get the babies to cry as loud as possible to invigorate healthy growth and ward off evil.
The baby that cries first is declared the victor. If both babies cry then the judges will decide which one cried the loudest. Displays of bravery or indifference by the child will invite judges with masks - designed to evoke tears of terror.
Mari Kinoshita, mother of a 10-month-old girl, is “looking forward to this” so that her daughter can “grow up healthy.”
Parents took pictures swiftly, encouraged cries eagerly, and cheered from the sidelines with pride and joy.
“This is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so I applied and hoped every day that we would be chosen. I am glad that (my baby) cried alot,” said Kizuki Kanematsu, mother of a 9-month-old boy.
The Japanese have seemingly weaved a thread of cruelty through this festival, but rest assured that it is meant to be taken in jest. The parents understand the irony of trying to make their 1-year old cry as hard as it can. For the babies, the joke seems to have fallen on deaf ears, or maybe they’re just crying too loudly.
Similar events are held in temples across Japan. Participants have to be born in the previous year and are chosen through a lottery.
